Vivian James
'Vivian James' This article is about the Vivian James from the Vivian James book series and not the original conception of the character invented by The Fine Young Capitalists (TFYC) and the 4-chan community. For the original Vivian James, see Vivian James. Vivian James (born 22 August 1995) is the title character of R. J. Ashmore's Vivian James series. The majority of the books' plot covers Vivian's late teens, when she inadvertently becomes the newest member of the Gaming Guardians shortly before her nineteenth birthday. Thus in addition to her hobby as a hardcore gamer, her ambitions to become a game developer and her part time job at PizzaGate Pizzeria, Vivian trains as a Gaming Guardian under the tutelage of Complete Cookie and other notorious gamers. Vivian James has a certain level of notoriety due to her many gaming accomplishments and almost unmatched skill at all video games but this only makes her more of a target for the many foes the Gaming Guardians fight against. Concept and Creation The original character of Vivian James was not created by the author but was the creation of a collaboration between the 4-chan community and The Fine Young Capitalists (TFYC). Inspired by Vivian James and the other characters created from this, as well as the ongoing #GamerGate controversy, the author decided that these characters would merit their own story in a fictional universe. R. J. Ashmore wanted to help with the #GamerGate consumer revolt but couldn't find a unique way. The story written for Vivian James started it's origins as a script for a game based on #GamerGate but being unable to actually make games and not wanting the time spent to go to waste, it was re-written as a comedic parody of the #GamerGate saga, using the fictional characters created from it. Appearances First Book Vivian first appears in Vivian James and the Gaming Guardians. Starting in July 2014, Vivian James is struggling to maintain a living due to only having a part time job at PizzaGate Pizzeria and her father being out of work. During a gaming session, she receives a message from her friend Ron Dzoni, who needs help after breaking up with his girlfriend, Zara Queen, who unbeknownst to everyone is a member of a secret organisation bent on controlling the world... and destroying video games. After unwittingly getting involved by trying to help her friend, Vivian is caught up in a series of events leading to her becoming a member of the Gaming Guardians (GG), an elite gamer group and the last line of defense against Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) and other crazies out to destroy video games. After a series of skirmishes against SJW's in seemingly unrelated events, the Gaming Guardians uncover a scheme by a secretive cult known as Ghazi, who under the leadership of Halina Scamesian, are using a device known as the Feminist Frequency to brainwash journalists and key figures in order to turn the world against gamers and geek culture as they are all the stands between them and complete cultural control. Vivian and the Gaming Guardians then set out to counter the effects of the Feminist Frequency and are nearly destroyed by a betrayal in their own ranks, if not for the intervention of their 'benevolent benefactor' who leads them to a new headquarters and equips them to deal with Ghazi. The secret war escalates, ultimately leading to a battle at Yawper Tower where Ghazi plans to unleash their perfected Feminist Frequency weapon upon the world. Second Book In Vivian James Vs Video Games the cult known as Ghazi has been mostly shattered and is in the process of being mopped up by the Gaming Guardians, who due to the events of the first book, are now known to the world but thought of as a terrorist organisation. Whilst the main might of the Gaming Guardians is assisting with Furious Fred's Forces against his adversary, Admiral Avarice, the remainder is supposed to be looking for any traces of Halina Scamesian or the mysterious Lord McIntosh but are instead mostly slacking and playing video games. Whilst there is little to no sign of the key players in Ghazi making a play or a concentrated effort from SJW's, the Gaming Guardians start to notice that games themselves seem to be changing in accordance to the twisted worldview of SJW's. New games are astoundingly politically correct, whilst content patches are making existing games more and more 'SJW approved'. The Gaming Guardians sense a plot, but it is only when even classic games begin to show signs of change that they realize that the gaming world itself is being altered from within. As the best player and having links herself to the gaming world, Vivian has to literally enter the world of video games to set things right and restore order. Third Book After choosing to remain in the real world and sealing the rift between video games and reality, the events of Vivian James: DeepFreeze unfold. Despite their accomplishments, the Gaming Guardians are being hunted down by the FBI as a terrorist group with no clear method of clearing their name. After escaping a bombing in Washington D.C and subsequently being framed for it, more pressure is on Vivian who is hiding as a fugitive alongside investigator Mark Broflovski who had been trailing GG. Mark eventually comes to understand the truth, making him a target for the remnants of Ghazi who, under the leadership of Lillian Woods, are hellbent on turning the world on GG. Mark, under the protection of the Gaming Guardians, organizes a fair hearing for them to clear their name to the public and government and become a legitimate line of defense against Social Justice Warriors. Despite numerous attacks, battles and losses on the way, the Gaming Guardians finally make it. Ghazi, afraid of the loss of their narrative, attempt to destroy the hearing and blame the Gaming Guardians resulting in a final battle between the two forces. Characterization Outward Appearance Vivian is typically depicted as wearing a striped green and purple hoodie with a black t-shirt underneath, blue jeans, and white sneakers. She has long, mostly unkempt auburn hair, green eyes, and freckles, with her eyes having bags underneath them due to her inconsistent sleep schedule. Her skin is a pale white due to the large amount of time she spends indoors and she is typically depicted as being slightly above average weight due to her sedentary lifestyle. She also wears a headband featuring a clover pin, the only item left of her mother. After the sudden upheaval of the Gaming Guardians to a new headquarters after w00t's betrayal, Vivian lost her clover pin and so opted for a green ribbon which she recovered from the debris of the original headquarters. Personality Vivian is strongly guided by the desire to relax and play video games and is typically apathetic, cynical, bitter, sarcastic and somewhat lazy. Vivian is apathetic towards any issue that is not directly related to video games and she is typically portrayed as spending most of her free time either playing video games, attempting to make video games, or browsing the internet. Vivian has grown up with limited access to caring adults and as such is vehemently independent. She has a unique sense of right and wrong, which has been heavily influenced by her friends and interactions online. She has a tendency to judge others based on how good they are at video games. Abilities and skills Throughout the series, Vivian is described as being an extremely gifted gamer. She has one of the worlds largest gamer and trophy scores and has placed high in many tournaments. Vivian is not particularly athletic and so initially struggles with the Ryu-shu fighting style of the Gaming Guardians but this drastically improves as the series progresses, in part thanks to her specialty controller based weapons. Possessions Vivian isn't by any means rich but she has managed to amass a massive collection of games, consoles, peripherals as well as a top of the line gaming computer. This has mostly been achieved due to her belief that her winnings from gaming should go towards gaming. Money earned from work still gets spent on games but Vivian reluctantly uses her wages for food and bills. Besides her games and electronics, Vivian does not have many other possessions but she cherishes her clover pendant which was her mothers. She owns a puppy called Vox and later a creature she calls 'Floof'. Back story Vivian James is the daughter of Vernon 'V' Chan James and Marian Kelly. She was born within the gaming world and was raised by her mother until she was three years old, when she was brought to her father in San Francisco within the 'normal' world. This was due to an escalating conflict within video games, caused by a rogue virus known as McIntosh trying to assimilate all independent thought. During this time many characters sought refuge in other worlds and Marian made sure that Vivian was among them. Vivian's father V does not know who her mother is and Vivian's early memories are skewered and dreamlike, she believes she was raised entirely by her father. Since the age of three, Vivian has lived in San Francisco. Vivian hates where she lives and finds herself in conflict with the mindset of most of the people around her, instead choosing to mostly stay indoors and play video games. Despite this she has some close friends, Ron Dzoni, Oliver Cameron, Erika Polina and Gilda Mars as well as several acquaintances. She graduated from Lich Wilderming high school with a B- average and then went to the City College of San Francisco to study game design as part of Computer Science. Finding the students at San Francisco City College completely intolerable, Vivian dropped out, instead choosing to learn in her own time from home via the use of online tutorials and downloaded software. She funds herself by working at PizzaGate Pizzeria and playing for money at gaming tournaments and e-sport events. Category:Characters